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A judge-led public inquiry into the Nottingham attacks will start in “a matter of weeks”, Keir Starmer has told the families of the three people killed and the injured survivors.
At a meeting at No 10 on Wednesday, the prime minister said the inquiry would scrutinise a “number of different agencies” and a retired judge would soon be appointed to lead the process.
Valdo Calocane killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates, and attempted to kill Wayne Birkett, Marcin Gawronski and Sharon Miller, in a spate of attacks in the city in June 2023.
He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and attempted murder.
Grace’s father, Sanjoy Kumar, thanked Starmer for announcing the inquiry “from a father to a father”. “I think that’s what my daughter deserves,” he added.
Starmer acknowledged it had taken a long time to reach a decision on an inquiry, and said he wanted the bereaved families and survivors to be “at the heart” of the process.
“I gave you my word that we would push for a judge-led inquiry. We have looked at the papers … and today I can confirm there will be a judge-led inquiry into this case. More than that, it will be a statutory inquiry,” Starmer said as he opened the meeting.
“I’m really pleased that we have got that far and I want to make sure you are at the heart of this. I know, acutely, you didn’t feel that before, and we will do everything we can to make sure you are at the heart of this. At least now we can begin this stage … towards the justice and accountability you so desperately need.”
He said the decision would have to be announced and discussed in parliament but added: “I don’t think there’s anybody that will question an inquiry.”
The families had called for a statutory inquiry in order for witnesses to be compelled to give evidence, and Starmer said this was important so that witnesses could “answer questions about their actions and their decisions”.
Speaking outside Downing Street after the meeting, Barnaby’s mother, Emma Webber, said this was the “first bit of positive news that we’ve been able to have for a very, very long time. We’re still processing it”.
Kumar added: “We welcome it, we’ve been working so hard towards it and I just think we couldn’t be more delighted. For the nation it’s a great day because for everyone who has also suffered the way we have, we will make sure that changes come from our inquiry for the betterment of our country.”
Webber said they had been told the inquiry would be concluded within two years.
Ian Coates’s son, James, said: “Today is finally a good reason to come to London, to get the promises we were given. It’s about the future, it’s about protecting the public so they don’t have to walk in our shoes.”
An NHS England report on the mental health care Calocane received before the attacks found his treatment “was not always sufficient to meet his needs”, and risk assessments failed to consider the “potential acts of violence” that could result from his failure to take medication.
It included detailed information on four occasions between 2020 and 2022 when Calocane was sectioned for mental health treatment, and his repeated failure to take medication at home, before he was discharged to his GP because of a lack of interaction with mental health services.
The report also found Calocane was allowed to avoid taking long-lasting antipsychotic medication as he did not like needles, and that he did not consider himself to have a mental health condition.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating the way Leicestershire police dealt with alleged assaults by Calocane a month before the attacks in Nottingham in June 2023.
It said it anticipated being able to publish the findings and outcomes of the investigation “in the coming weeks”.
